On June 24th, 1952, Officer Phil Lowd, a 54 year old veteran of 18 years State Police service, Officer Charles Offenbacher, and Forest Ranger Lowell Ash went to talk with a 67 year-old eccentric, recluse trapper who had taken a shot at a Forest Service Survey Crew. The officers were met with a volley of shots. Lowd was shot between the eyes and died instantly. The trapper, George Dunkin led his pursuers on a chase through the woods that lasted for weeks. He was finally captured and sentenced in October of 1952 to life imprisonment for second degree murder. He was paroled in 1967.